You Can't Win

August 11, 1985|By Charlie Jean

MENTAL DEPRESSION is twice as prevalent among city dwellers as among those who live in rural areas, says the Archives of General Psychiatry. But don't move to the country -- that's where alcoholism and drug abuse hold the upper hand, the report says. Depression, in general, was more common among white women, alcoholism and drug abuse more entrenched among the lesser educated, more of whom live in rural areas. The report is based on a survey of five North Carolina counties in which 3,921 randomly selected residents were interviewed to size up their mental health.